Healthcare is just as prone to fall victim to hype and irrational exuberance as any other complex industry. And the more revolutionary the promise, the more outrageous the overstatements could be. Artificial intelligence has certainly been one of those "next big things" for some time in healthcare. Whether branded as "big data and analytics" or "automated clinical decision support," the results of technology-assisted care, especially in non-clinical and non-emergent settings, have been uneven at best. But a new report indicates AI's time in healthcare is nigh, and technology and policy pioneers are doing their best to ensure the hopes aren't all hype.

AliveCor's KardiaBand, a device that detect dangerous heart rhythms, has become the first Apple Watch accessory cleared for medical use by the FDA, the company announced. It can capture your EKG in 30 seconds, then detect problems like atrial fibrillation, a type of heart arrhythmia. In addition, the company launched a new version of the band today in the US with a feature called SmartRhythm. That uses Apple's built-in heart rate sensor and AI algorithms to warn you if your heart rate is elevated when you're not exercising or doing strenuous activities. FDA clearance means that AliveCor can sell and market it as a medical device, but users don't need doctor approval to use it.

Tech giants aim to reinforce their leads in AI or make up for lost ground. Tech giants seeking to reinforce their leads in artificial intelligence or make up for lost ground have been the most aggressive buyers. Alphabet's Google has acquired 11 AI start-ups since 2012, the most of any firm, followed by Apple, Facebook and Intel, respectively, according to CB Insights. The companies declined to comment on their acquisition strategies. A spokesman for Apple did confirm the company's recent purchase of Lattice Data, a start-up that specialises in working with unstructured data.

Tech giants seeking to reinforce their leads in artificial intelligence or make up for lost ground have been the most aggressive buyers. Google has acquired 11 AI startups since 2012, the most of any firm, followed by Apple, Facebook and Intel, respectively, according to CB Insights. The companies declined to comment on their acquisition strategies. A spokesman for Apple did confirm the company's recent purchase of Lattice Data, a startup that specializes in working with unstructured data. The first quarter also saw one of the largest deals to date as Ford Motor Company invested $1 billion in Argo AI, founded by former executives on self-driving teams at Google and Uber.

The world knows no deadlier assassin than heart disease. It accounts for one in four fatalities in the US. Early detection remains the key to saving lives, but catching problems at the right time too often relies upon dumb luck. The most effective way of identifying problems involves an EKG machine, a bulky device with electrodes and wires. Even many portable machines like battery-powered Holter monitors, are unwieldy.

AliveCor was founded in 2010, yet the start-up really came into prominence when they appointed Vic Gundotra, a Google executive who was responsible for the company's unsuccessful attempt to make a social network to rival Facebook (it was Google, just in case you didn't know), as their CEO. However, Gundotra and AliveCor have been working hard making mobile devices aimed at helping doctors do their job more efficiently. The Silicon Valley-based company developed Kardia Mobile, which cost just $99, but they've now gone one step further with the next iteration of the device, the Kardia Pro, by adding in AI. AliveCor developed Kardia Pro, which is only half the size of a credit card and incredibly thin, for the sole purpose of helping doctors better detect atrial fibrillations in their patients, which in turn will allow them to prevent heart attacks. AliveCore has also managed to raise an extra $30 million in funding, with a big chunk of that money coming from Omron Healthcare who specialise in developing personal wellness products.

AliveCor's Kardia Mobile records ECGs in 60 seconds and beams the data to a smartphone app. AliveCor, the Silicon Valley-based maker of the $99 Kardia Mobile, a portable electrocardiogram device, is now betting that artificial intelligence will help doctors monitor patients' heart conditions. Its machine learning algorithms will automatically flag abnormal ECGs, leading to early detection of common heart arrhythmias and helping to prevent strokes. The company, which is led by former Microsoft and Google exec Vic Gundotra, on Thursday unveiled Kardia Pro, a platform that connects doctors and patients. It uses AI to detect atrial fibrillation, the most common cardiac arrhythmia, which it then flags for physicians.

When Vic Gundotra left Google in 2014, he thought he might retire, forever. But a lingering interest in wearable technology and machine learning led him to AliveCor, which lets users monitor their heart health from their smartphones. Diving back into the fray of tech, Gundotra is now convinced that the potential of wearables and machine learning is just starting to be unlocked. AliveCor's portable EKG sensor, Kardia, alerts users if their heartbeats are irregular -- and now, the Mayo Clinic, an AliveCor investor, has begun identifying other signals in an EKG reading that a human might miss. "No human doctor can look at your EKG and tell you with a high degree of accuracy what your potassium level is," Gundotra said.

When Vic Gundotra left Google in 2014, he thought he might retire, forever. But a lingering interest in wearable technology and machine learning led him to AliveCor, which lets users monitor their heart health from their smartphones. Diving back into the fray of tech, Gundotra is now convinced that the potential of wearables and machine learning is just starting to be unlocked. AliveCor's portable EKG sensor, Kardia, alerts users if their heartbeats are irregular -- and now, the Mayo Clinic, an AliveCor investor, has begun identifying other signals in an EKG reading that a human might miss. "No human doctor can look at your EKG and tell you with a high degree of accuracy what your potassium level is," Gundotra said.